Kids wanting Kids

I was sitting at the mall last night watching my son run around and around and around the little playland full of tiny, miniature people. It's a great place to go and unleash him while I read or eat or read and eat. I try to read but, dammit, these kids are so interesting to watch. You've got your shy kids, you've got your loud ones, you've got the ones who freak out whenever someone touches them and then you've got your kids that pull other kids off the bridge. Ahhh...relaxing. The victim slowly gets up from the soft play river rocks that his back just made a loud "thud" on. Was I the only one that just saw that? I'm worried that the kid has a mild concussion. I look around and everyone else is chatting, eating, sleeping, checking out the ring fingers of other moms or dads, or just generally in outer space parent zone and do not want to come back. The kid that got pulled off the bridge takes a breather over on the couch. I can tell he's trying to shake it off. I'm thinking to myself, "He's doing a good job at acting like he was invisible when he got jacked off the bridge."
I'm eating my subway sandwich because that's what I crave more than any other food in this world. Um. No. Because none of my pants can zip around my fat belly anymore. You know that when you pick up the elastic waist pants out of the dirty clothes and ponder whether or not someone can really see that ketchup stain because you can't stand the idea of wearing something with a zipper, you have gained a few pounds. It's just my winter coat that I put on when it's cold. Those extra pounds keep me warm.
Anyway, so I'm sitting there watching the kids strangle each other or play, rather, and I overhear the conversation next to me between these teenagers, or tweens, as Miley Cyrus would want us to say. Two girls and a skinny little guy. Maybe fourteen years old? Fifteen at the most. One girl has her reddish orange hair twisted up in knots on top of her head while she picks at a zit on her chin. She's the one that is facing towards me. I can only see the back of the other girl and her brown roots in her jet black hair. The guy is in typical punk/skater/emo/goth fashion. The usual. The orange hair girl starts to ask the emo guy about a girl named Faith and how she feels about him hanging out with his two ex-girlfriends. He plays it off and says super-chill-like that she doesn't care. Blah blah blah and so on. My ear perks up again whenever the black haired girl says that kids are sweet. Said it looks like taking care of them is hard but she thinks kids are awesome. She says "I want to be pregnant so bad. I just want to have a baby." And then a few seconds later whispers "I think I might be. I'll know in a few weeks."
Hee hee.
Um. Kids are hard work. I just have ONE and I don't know what I'm doing or where I am half the time. Girls, if this is on purpose, please wait until you're out of high school. I'm not sure what this new trend is about being pregnant before you are old enough to drive but I'm not convinced. Lifetime movies about it, articles about it - bullshit. It's not for the weak, o young ones.

Bad Apple

My mama always said, "One bad apple spoils the bunch". And I believe that to be true. Whether you are exposed to a negative person or whether YOU happen to be the negative person, we feed off of each other. I would hope that I have not been the bad apple that has spoiled the innocent cluster of shiny new red treats. Number one, I don't know that many people. Number two, I don't quite think I am that influential. Number three, people get that glassy-eyed look when I am talking to them sometimes. I don't think they're listening.

Anyway, sarcasm aside (gasp!), I say all of this because I would like to be a healthier, happier me. A non-smoking white gal that likes to exercise and has recently shed 20 pounds. More importantly, I want to be mentally healthy. With a happy glow to my Cheshire cat grin. I crave yoga. I crave meditation. But where are my time management skills?? And why is that so hard for me to do?

I will quit my job and practice personal time management. That way I would have all day to plan what I needed to do all day. Eh?! Genius!

I think that if you surround yourself with positive, healthy, creative people then you will reap the benefits of their ambition and success. It's a given. Therefore, I do not want to be the bad apple. And I don't want to rot away while snuggling close to worms either. I want to surround myself with others that have the same end goal as I do. We may not get there in the same manner, but we both love the idea of inner beauty and outer happiness.

My Forecast

Partly sunny
Slight chance of despair with a
Twenty percent chance of tear-fall
Scattered flurries of hope
2 to 3 feet of overwhelming responsibility expected
Stay inside and off the roads if possible

Miss You

I miss my Granny Tolley. I miss my Paw Tolley. They've been gone for so long that my memories have become foggy and translucent. Today, while eating lunch, I noticed a little old lady with what looked to be her grandson. She had a walker just like my Granny used to have. A "cool" one with the seat on it and compartment for holding all the things a Granny needs...tissues, glasses case, magnifying glass, more tissues...Made me think of her. She finally decides what she wants for lunch and shouts it out. Cute. She started to show her grandson and a friend of his pictures of her cat and her dog. Her thin white hair was permed and fluffed as much as it could be - just like Granny's. The comparisons stopped when her cell phone shrieked a funkadelic ring tone. Aw, hell no. Made me miss the simplicity of my Granny even more. She didn't even have a driver's license. Never needed it. She was feisty and I can respect that. She was always good to me. Miss you Granny.

Mr. T-t-t-tudball and Mrs. W-w-w-iggins! Thank you, Carol Burnett. I've never laughed as hard with my Granny than when we were watching your show.

The Big Day

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and if you are one of the ones out there that either
1) loves to celebrate it because you are addicted to hearts and candy
2) required to celebrate it because your significant other will tear your eyes out if you don't
3) loves a reason to craft cool cards and gifts
4) guininely love your partner and want to share with them a romantic holiday

then...Let's Get Started!

I was thinking about some nifty things that you could do for Valentine's Day that might be a little sweeter than waiting 3 hours in line only to eat dinner standing up because there aren't any seats left. Note: Food good. I will wait long time for good meal. Anyway, here are a few ideas that you could blurb about to your partners, friends or whoever you might be with after the glorious weekend of Superbowl 44!

1) French Broad Chocolate Lounge: take your sweetie, or just yourself!, and munch on some decadent chocolate desserts. This location is much more inviting than the Chocolate Fetish. Try the Canela Picante, bitersweet chocolate ganache sprinkled with cayenne pepper, for a smoldering finish to your romantic evening. http://frenchbroadchocolates.com/

2) Fondue Massage for Two: Take the chocolate idea and bring it on home. This is one of those classic things to do on Valentine's Day. But it seems as though we keep trying to outdo ourselves each year and sometimes you just have to go back to your roots. Grab a fondue pot or just use a double boiler on the stove. Grab some dipping buddies for the chocolate like sliced banannas, angel food cake, blueberries, strawberries and marshmallows. Nosh on some fondue then break out the massage oil. Or get creative and use that melted chocolate like it should be.

3) Read to Me: Have him or her read a good book to you. It is so relaxing. You can take the sexy route and make it a steamy read or be inventive and woo him with the dictionary.

4) Fix Me Something Good, Baby: Choose a gourmet recipe that you have never made. Shop together for all the fun ingredients, choosing cheeses, breads while stealing kisses. Get started on the meal and keep it fun. Use food in ways that...well...you may have never used it before. Hey! Keep it clean kids. http://www.epicurious.com/recipesmenus/gourmet/recipes

Of course you don't need me to tell you that there are a zillion places to gorge yourself silly in Asheville and nearby. Plenty of places to get your romance on. Plenty of spots to escape to for the weekend. Whether you take the classic route or become your own party planner, enjoy!

LAB

Kobe Beef Sliders at LAB

Made a long awaited visit to Lexington Avenue Brewery Saturday night and I was very thrilled. First of all, I loved the atmosphere. It was fresh, new and at the same time comfy and warm. The hand dryers in the bathroom were just as exciting as the metro feel from the crowd out front.

After snagging a table super quick, we started out with the sampler and tried all the brews. The White Ale was very clean with that classic orange tang at the end. Ended up getting a whole glass of that one. The Pilsner Lager doesn't beat my favorite, The Wedge Pilsner (whoot whoot), but it had a presence of its own. The American Pale and India Pale Ale were both nice. But the one that really surprised me was the Chocolate Porter. Holy Flapjacks! I have never been a porter fan but this one was a pleasant little tickle on my tongue. The chocolate flavor really comes through after the first sip and a few slaps of the tongue on the roof of the mouth. The last and final beer was the Chocolate Stout. It does live up to it's name. With a cold mild espresso taste, the Stout has lots of staying power. Very tasty-fied.

We ordered two appetizers to accompany our romp with the beer samples. The Hummus Quartet was really charming. With 4 different kinds of hummus, the dish really aims to please lots of palletes. Even your pickiest friend that always bitches about too many spices or too much sauce. I enjoyed the Edamame the most. The Roasted Red Pepper was delicious as it always is in the hummus world. A new kick was the Olive Tempanade. A great little addition to all the creamy hummus. I always love when they throw in a few cucumber pieces to add some crispyness to it all. I wasn't as fond of the Pesto hummus as I was all of the other ones but my dining buddy was thrilled by it. So it worked out smoothly.

The Kobe Beef Sliders stole the show. Ta da! On top of being the cutest damn burger I have ever seen, the taste was unbeleivable. The crunchy onion rings and the creamy blue cheese dressing that dripped of my chin was making me a very happy girl. Bring a bib and grab some Kobe Beef Sliders. You will love wiping your face.